Colin Jones (photographer)
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Colin Jones (8 August 1936 – 22 September 2021) was an English ballet dancer-turned-photographer and prolific photojournalist of post-war Britain. Jones documented facets of social history as diverse as the vanishing industrial working lives of the North East coalfields (''Grafters''), delinquent Afro-Caribbean youth in London (''The Black House''), hedonistic 1960s '
Swinging London The Swinging Sixties was a youth-driven cultural revolution that took place in the United Kingdom during the mid-to-late 1960s, emphasising modernity and fun-loving hedonism, with Swinging London denoted as its centre. It saw a flourishing in ...
' with pictures of
The Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...
early in their career, the 1963
race riots This is a list of ethnic riots by country, and includes riots based on ethnic, sectarian, xenophobic, and racial conflict. Some of these riots can also be classified as pogroms. Africa Americas United States Nativist period: 1700s†...
in
Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...
, Soviet
Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
, and remnants of a rural Britain now lost to history.


Ballet dancer

Jones was born in 1936. He experienced a war childhood; his father, a Poplar, printer, went away as a soldier on the
Burma campaign The Burma campaign was a series of battles fought in the British colony of British rule in Burma, Burma as part of the South-East Asian theatre of World War II. It primarily involved forces of the Allies of World War II, Allies (mainly from ...
. Jones' family was evacuated to Essex and he attended a succession of thirteen schools while struggling with
dyslexia Dyslexia (), previously known as word blindness, is a learning disability that affects either reading or writing. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, reading quickly, wri ...
, before the age of sixteen. One school he attended for only two weeks before it was bombed and reduced to a crater. As a result of his learning difficulties and disrupted education, he was illiterate until the age of 20. Though this drew him to activities where he didn't need to write. At the age of sixteen, he took up ballet lessons. at the Royal Ballet School. In 1960 Jones was called up for national service and served in the Queen's Royal Regiment. Fresh out of the army, he joined the
Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...
, later moving to the Touring Royal Ballet and embarking on a nine-month world tour. Jones met, and for four years was married to, the ballerina Lynn Seymour. While on tour and running an errand for
Margot Fonteyn Dame Margaret Evelyn de Arias Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, DBE ( Hookham; 18 May 191921 February 1991), known by the stage name Margot Fonteyn (), was an English ballerina. She spent her entire career as a dancer with th ...
, he bought his first camera, a Leica 3C
rangefinder A rangefinder (also rangefinding telemeter, depending on the context) is a device used to Length measurement, measure distances to remote objects. Originally optical devices used in surveying, they soon found applications in other fields, suc ...
, in 1958 and started taking photographs of the dancers and backstage life during the Australian leg of the circuit. Jones admired the available-light backstage photography of
Michael Peto Michael Peto (also known as Mihály Petö) (1908 – 25 December 1970) was an internationally recognized Hungarian people, Hungarian-British photojournalist of the twentieth century. Emigrating to London before World War II through business, in the ...
, a Hungarian émigré, who agreed to
mentor Mentorship is the patronage, influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the perso ...
him. He remembers;


Photographer

Jones took advantage of the ballet company's travel to photograph extensively in the streets of
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,
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
and the
Gorbals The Gorbals is an area in the city of Glasgow, Scotland, and former burgh, on the south bank of the River Clyde. By the late 19th century, it had become densely populated; rural migrants and immigrants were attracted by the new industries and e ...
,
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
in 1961. Driving with fellow dancers from
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...
to
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...
that year, he saw, north of
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
, coal searchers on the spoil-heaps. While on tour in the early 1960s, Jones witnessed the burning of slums in the Philippines, which had been happening while he was sitting across the bay in Manila sipping champagne. The sight of children being bulldozed while they were still in bed affected him greatly, and he said, "I think it was then that I decided to leave the ballet. This is what was happening while I was sipping Krug". Shortly after he turned towards Photography. In 1962, having changed his career to become a photographer for ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...
'', he returned to produce a series of photographs recording the vanishing industrial working poor and mining communities in the North East of England, later publishing the essay as the book ''Grafters''. At ''The Observer'' he worked alongside photographers Philip Jones Griffiths and
Don McCullin Sir Donald McCullin (born 9 October 1935) is a British photojournalist, particularly recognised for his war photography and images of urban strife. His career, which began in 1959, has specialised in examining the Social documentary photograph ...
. He worked in
Fleet Street Fleet Street is a street in Central London, England. It runs west to east from Temple Bar, London, Temple Bar at the boundary of the City of London, Cities of London and City of Westminster, Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the Lo ...
for several years before turning
freelance ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...
. Commissioned assignments took him to
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
in 1962;
Liverpool docks The Port of Liverpool is the enclosed Dock (maritime), dock system that runs from Brunswick Dock in Liverpool to Seaforth Dock, Seaforth, Merseyside, Seaforth, on the east side of the River Mersey and the Great Float, Birkenhead Docks betwee ...
in 1963; the
race riots This is a list of ethnic riots by country, and includes riots based on ethnic, sectarian, xenophobic, and racial conflict. Some of these riots can also be classified as pogroms. Africa Americas United States Nativist period: 1700s†...
in
Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...
, USA, where he made portraits of both 'Bull' Connor, and Dr Martin Luther King in 1963; and Leningrad, USSR in 1964. In 1966 he photographed the British rock band
The Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...
at the beginning of their career, and
Pete Townshend Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is the co-founder, guitarist, keyboardist, second lead vocalist, principal songwriter and leader of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s an ...
, then
Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English musician. He is known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; Jagge ...
in 1967. He travelled to the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
in 1969 where he photographed the
sex trade The sex industry (also called the sex trade) consists of businesses that either directly or indirectly provide sex-related products and services or adult entertainment. The industry includes activities involving direct provision of sex-related se ...
. He portrayed significant dancers, including Rudolph Nureyev for several publications.


The Black House

Jones was commissioned by the '' Sunday Times Magazine'' in 1973 to document the
Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...
-based Harambee housing project for
Afro-Caribbean Afro-Caribbean or African Caribbean people are Caribbean people who trace their full or partial ancestry to Sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of the modern Afro-Caribbean people descend from the Indigenous peoples of Africa, Africans (primarily fr ...
youth (the name 'Harambee' is Swahili for 'pulling together'). The ''Sunday Times'' front cover article 'On the edge of the Ghetto' resulted from his frequent visits to the dilapidated
terraced house A terrace, terraced house ( UK), or townhouse ( US) is a type of medium-density housing which first started in 16th century Europe with a row of joined houses sharing side walls. In the United States and Canada these are sometimes known as row ...
on Holloway Road, a refuge for troubled young black men which was run by a charismatic Caribbean migrant, Brother Herman Edwards. The project, often visited by the police, was an irritant to neighbours, who complained of noise and overcrowding. Jones gained the trust of the youths he photographed, many of whom embraced their portrayal in the media as delinquents, reinforcing their status as outcasts. The building was named the Black House both by residents and by newspaper editors in sensationalist headlines, attempting to associate it with the reputation of the notorious original 'Black House' commune also on Holloway Road, a mile away, run by Michael de Freitas and which had wound up in autumn 1970 and later burned in suspicious circumstances. This first generation of Afro-Caribbean young people to be born in Britain experienced prejudice and disadvantage in education, employment and with the law, and Jones humanised what had been a one-sided news story. Supported by grants from the Gulbenkian Foundation and the
Arts Council An arts council is a government or private non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the arts; mainly by funding local artists, awarding prizes, and organizing arts events. They often operate at arms-length from the government to prevent pol ...
,Arts Council of Great Britain (1979), ''Arts Council collection: A concise, illustrated catalogue of paintings, drawings, photographs, and sculpture bought for the Arts Council of Great Britain between 1942 and 1978.'' The Council, 1979 Jones continued to photograph the project until 1976 when the housing project dissolved. The archive of works is now being digitised by Jones' agent, TopFoto.co.uk


Recognition

Jones' work has been published in major publications including ''The Times'', ''
National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...
'', ''Life'', '' Geo'' and ''
Nova A nova ( novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. All observed novae involve white ...
'' as well as many supplements for major broadsheet newspapers, most prominently ''The Sunday Times'', which dubbed Jones 'The
George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to a ...
of British photography'. In his later career he covered assignments around the world, including Jamaica in 1978; the indigenes of the
New Hebrides New Hebrides, officially the New Hebrides Condominium () and named after the Hebrides in Scotland, was the colonial name for the island group in the South Pacific Ocean that is now Vanuatu. Native people had inhabited the islands for three th ...
and Zaire in 1980;
Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on society's underworld and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He began in the American folk music, fo ...
in New York, 1981; San Blas Islands in 1982; Ireland in 1984; Xian, China in 1985;
Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory and constitutes an eastern portion of the larger Kashmir region that has been the subject of a Kashmir#Kashmir dispute, dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947 and India an ...
in northern India in 1994 and Bunker Hill, Kansas in 1996. Solo exhibitions have been devoted to his work: ''The Black House: Colin Jones'' at The Photographers' Gallery in London, 4 May – 4 June 1977Country Matters
, James Hyman Gallery. Archived by the Wayback Machine on 14 July 2014.
as well as at other galleries (see Exhibitions below). Martin Harrison's ''Young Meteors'' associated Jones with other important British photographers including
Don McCullin Sir Donald McCullin (born 9 October 1935) is a British photojournalist, particularly recognised for his war photography and images of urban strife. His career, which began in 1959, has specialised in examining the Social documentary photograph ...
and Terence Donovan. In 2013 the
Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...
acquired three of Jones' historic photographs from ''The Black House'' series, along with a photograph by Dennis Morris depicting the original Black House associated with Michael X, both acquired as part of ''Staying Power'', a five year partnership between the V&A and Black Cultural Archives, preserving black British experience from the 1950s to the 1990s through photographs and oral histories. The
Arts Council An arts council is a government or private non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the arts; mainly by funding local artists, awarding prizes, and organizing arts events. They often operate at arms-length from the government to prevent pol ...
also bought his work. In 2024 his nephew Kim Jones published an album of Jones's works for
Dior Homme Dior Homme is the menswear division of Christian Dior SA, the French clothing retailer. Dior Homme named Jonathan Anderson as creative director on April 17, 2025 following his exit from Loewe. History During the 1980s and 1990s Dior's men ...
spring fashion show.


Exhibitions


Solo exhibitions

* ''The Black House: Colin Jones'', The Photographers' Gallery, London, 1977 * ''The Black House – Colin Jones,'' Michael Hoppen Gallery, London, 2007 * '' Fifty Years of The Who by Colin Jones'', Proud Camden, 2014 * ''A Life with The Royal Ballet by Colin Jones'', Proud Chelsea, 2015 * ''Retrospective – Colin Jones,'' Michael Hoppen Gallery, London, 2016 * ''The Who: Colin Jones'', Aperture Leica, London, 2019/20 * ''Backstage at the Ballet'' North Wall Arts Centre, Oxford, 2020 * ''Colin Jones Ballet in the 1960s'' TopFoto digital Gallery


Group exhibitions

* ''Country Matters'', James Hyman Gallery, London, 2013. Photographs by Jones, Bert Hardy,
Roger Mayne Roger Mayne (5 May 1929 – 7 June 2014) was an English photographer, best known for his documentation of the children of Southam Street, London. Life and work Born in Cambridge, Mayne studied Chemistry at Balliol College, Oxford University. Her ...
, Tony Ray-Jones, Homer Sykes, Chris Killip, Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen,
Martin Parr Martin Parr (born 23 May 1952) is a British documentary photographer, photojournalist and photobook collector. He is known for his photographic projects that take an intimate, satirical and anthropological look at aspects of modern life, in p ...
, Mark Power, Anna Fox, and Ken Grant. * ''Jerusalem,'' Michael Hoppen Gallery, London, 2011. Photographs by Jones, John Davies, Charles Jones. * ''Stars of the East – Peter Blake, Colin Jones, Frank Worth,'' Britart Gallery, London, 2002


Publications


Publications by Jones

* ''Grafters.'' Phaidon, 2002. .


Publications with others

* ''Great Rivers of the World.'' London:
Hodder & Stoughton Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette.H ...
, 1984. . Edited by Alexander Frater and with photographs by Jones. * ''The Black House''. Munich; London:
Prestel Prestel was the Brand#Brand names and trademark, brand name of a videotex service launched in the UK in 1979 by BT Group#Post Office Telecommunications, Post Office Telecommunications, a division of the British Post Office Limited#History, Po ...
, 2006. . Photographs by Jones and text by Mike Phillips.


Collections

Jones' work is held in the following permanent collection: *
National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London that houses a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. When it opened in 1856, it was arguably the first national public gallery in the world th ...
: 2 prints (as of 30 September 2021)


References


External links

*
Graft and Grace: the legacy of Colin Jones, 1936-2021
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Colin 1936 births 2021 deaths English photographers English photojournalists 20th-century British ballet dancers People with dyslexia Photographers with disabilities Dancers with disabilities English people with disabilities The Observer photojournalists Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in England English male ballet dancers British artists with disabilities